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How many of you would be interested in exchanging daughters from your best breeders? I've been med. free for three years and although I take a hit here and there with losses, my breeders only come from "boomers" in the spring. I live in Southern Lower Michigan and this will be my fifth year rearing queens.

As many of you have already experienced, the Italians do tend to darken over the years as we have been getting away from some of the commercial (and perhaps, more unstable) lines.

I'd be interested in an exchange with MED. FREE(Important: MED. FREE) breeders to help diversify my populations. Did I mention MED. FREE? [img]smile.gif[/img]

Jim, I would be interested. I have several breeders from untreated colonies, that I call survivor queens, and they are what you described as "boomers" this Jan, ready for the almonds. Several of them were used as breederstock last year, and their daughters perfomance are exceptional. I do have a new breeder queen that I am very excited about this year, her only drawback seem to be heavy propolis use, but in all other regards seems nearly bullet proof. She has surrvived heavy natural selection pressure and continues to out perform everything I have come across lately.
Thank you for your kind remarks; lets build some better bees!

I know it's a relative term, but I'm looking for a colony that has proven successful the season before in terms of honey production and rapid build up the following spring.

Winter cluster size is also considered, in my opinion, since that helps contribute to an early population explosion. Typically, a colony that could be split at least three ways (in January...in Michigan, which I know is impossible with our conditions at that time of the season) is a candidate.

Your photo link doesn't work, you need to edit it so others can read/see them. Follow the directions on the site and you can modify the settings so either the public or people witha password can see them.

I do not use any meds and I do at times loose as much as 50%. I then AI my queens with the survivor stock. I have NWC. In my breeding plans I do allow a few hives to open mate just so that I can keep some gean diversity in my group as well as buying some queens for drone production.
I breed for rapid build up and low use of stores with resistance to diseases.
Dan

I am interested as well. My queens are Italian/Carniolian/SMR fourth generation. This will be my 3rd year since I started all over. I breed for rapid buildup too. I think to anybody in the north that is important. I also choose the late flyers, (meaning cooloer temps) to add in the mix. I have been on small cell for 2 complete years, entering into year 3. Mite counts still are relatively low, and I am very satisfied. My bees wintered well so far. Saw the hive with all the nucs in it active this past weekend. (temp around 47). I would be interested in getting virgin queens though.